Low Cholesterol Diet And Exercise To Fight High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that our body produces naturally to help in cell membrane production, hormone production and other bodily functions. The problem of elevated cholesterol levels arise when we consume foods which are high is components that contribute to high cholesterol.
Managing High Cholesterol
In most cases, to be able to effectively treat the condition of having high cholesterol, the individual must go on a low cholesterol diet. Since we can attribute most cases of elevated cholesterol levels to the food we eat, having a low cholesterol diet combined with regular exercise and weight loss will effectively control our cholesterol levels.
A low cholesterol diet means that you have to cut down on some foods that you may have been used to eating. Most meats can elevate cholesterol levels efficiently as well as dairy products. For your low cholesterol diet, you should keep these to a minimum. All foods with saturated fats should be kept to a minimum or even not allowed on your low cholesterol diet. Trans fatty acids are also foods that you will wish to omit from your low cholesterol diet. These include most cookies, cakes, hard margarines, shortenings and chips.
Foods that you want in your low cholesterol diet are those rich in soluble fibers like apples, oats, barley and many more. Other foods that can help with your low cholesterol diet are those rich in omega 3 such as fish, nuts like almonds, pecans, hazelnuts and others. A word of warning about nuts; you should not overdo these because they also contain a lot of calories. Foods packed with plant sterols are also great for your low cholesterol diet; these include foods which are fortified with it such as some margarine spreads, some salad dressing and orange juice.
Keeping to your low cholesterol diet may be difficult at first especially if you are used to eating a lot of red meat and other rich foods. A low cholesterol diet combined with regular exercise can effectively lower elevated cholesterol levels and keep you fit. The importance of regular body exertion is for your heart to have a cardiovascular exercise as well as your body. There may be deviations from your low cholesterol diet but make sure that these are infrequent and not harmful to your overall health. You might like to consult a dietician for a more effective and expansive diet to help lower cholesterol.
